This invention relates generally to the art of toilets or water closets, and more particularly concerns a hygiene apparatus which is adapted for attachment to a toilet seat or bowl.
The invention is to be used for personal hygiene, particularly for cleansing of the rectal and genital areas of the body. It can be used, for instance, immediately following use of the toilet, without further undressing.
Private hygiene bathroom fixtures, referred to as bidets, are well known and rather extensively used in certain parts of the world, although they are generally regarded as being primarily for feminine personal hygiene. Although the advantages of the bidet are becoming increasingly well recognized in the United States, it is highly impractical to install a bidet in existing bathroom facilities, particularly in private residences, because of the space required and the need for an additional drain.
Attachments for conventional toilets are known which attempt to provide the cleansing capability of a bidet. Such devices theoretically would overcome the problems of space and drain capability noted above. At least one such device is presently on the market.
However, these devices, because they must operate in the physical context of a conventional toilet, have been found to have several practical disadvantages. A severe disadvantage is the poor cleansing effect of such devices due to poor or uneven coverage of the target area, i.e. the rectal and genital areas of the body. Another disadvantage of such devices is that they frequently splash water onto the floor or the clothes of the user. These two disadvantages are due primarily to the design parameters imposed on such devices, i.e. that they fit within a conventional toilet and that they be out of the way and preferably out of sight when not in use.
A third disadvantage with such devices is their lack of effective warm-up capability. Most devices have used a pivoting sprayhead which may be moved so that the water can be directed down into the bowl until it is sufficiently warm to be used. Such an arrangement, however, complicates the mechanical aspects of the device and adds to the expense.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hygiene apparatus for toilets which overcomes one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art specified above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is adapted for attachment to a conventional toilet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which may be moved to a retracted position when not in use, where it is substantially out of sight.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which provides good cleansing of the entire target area.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which does not splash the cleansing fluid, e.g. water, either on the floor or on the clothes of the user.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which permits convenient discharge of fluid into the toilet bowl.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is mechanically simple and easy to clean.